Pelita Jaya hires Allen and Jones

Pelita Jaya hires Allen and Jones

JAKARTA (JP): Pelita Jaya has included two foreign players in its roster for the professional basketball league which begins on April 9 in Surabaya, East Java.

Coach Toto Sudarsono said yesterday that the club decided to hire Bobby Allen of Canada and American Charles Jones in a bid to improve his team's performance this season. The Jakarta-based club finished only fourth in last year's Kobatama league.

"We signed them because we need players who are good rebounders," Toto said. He declined to disclose the size of the transfer fees.

Allen, who was a member of the Canadian team in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, played in the Philippines pro-league last season. The 25-year-old player, who is 1.95m tall, will receive a car and a house, plus bonuses if the team wins the league.

Jones, signed from Siliwangi of Bandung, West Java, will also receive the same treatment. He looks certain to play as a center.

Pelita is one of the four teams which has picked its own foreign players without using the services offered by Kobatama's agencies. The others are Bima Sakti, Hadtex and Aspac.

Toto said that his squad is only aiming to stay among the top four this season as the battle for the league title is getting much tighter.

Pelita decided to maintain its regular team line-up. "We have only added a new center to our team to back up Jones," Toto said.

The team has been gearing up for the league for two months at the Senayan Basketball Hall.

Toto expects his men to peak in the second and third rounds of the four-leg competition.

After opening in Surabaya, the Kobatama moves to Semarang and then to Jakarta for the third leg. It will then proceed to Bogor and Cirebon, West Java. The final round takes place in the Senayan indoor stadium in August. (05)